That raised the interesting question of whether he’d rather see the battle won or lost. A complete debacle would not be good; he was reasonably sure of Aesperus’s aid, but he’d rather approach the lich with a request for a moderate amount of aid rather than beg the lich to spare Hulburg from disaster. No, the best outcome would be a hard-fought victory in which the Bloody Skulls were turned back without the aid of the King in Copper… especially if the armsmen of the other merchant companies suffered heavily in the fighting.
“It seems that time is of the essence,” the harmach said. He stood up slowly, and the other lords and officers got to their feet as well. Sergen rose smoothly and waited for his uncle to finish. “Kara, prepare the Shieldsworn for departure as quickly as you can. Those of you who have promised your armsmen, you must have your troops ready to march within hours. Only by concerted effort will we be able to avert this new and deadly threat. Now, go! And may the gods look kindly upon our defense.”
The assemblage broke up and dispersed, with a dozen conversations beginning at once as the various lords and officials began to make their way out of the hall. Sergen shifted the position of the rapier at his hip and turned to go as well.
“One moment, Sergen.” The harmach limped closer, leaning on his heavy walking stick. “I wish to have a word with you.”
There was little that Sergen cared to discuss with his uncle at the moment, but he was standing in Griffonwatch, and there were still dozens of onlookers in the hall. He nodded and gave his stepuncle a conciliatory smile. “I have much to do if I am to persuade the other merchant companies to dispatch their soldiers with Kara,” he said. “But if it’s important to speak now, then I am at your disposal, Uncle Grigor.”
“I will not detain you for long, Sergen. Before you leave, we must settle this question of Geran’s imprisonment by the Merchant Council.”
“I fear that’s not a question we can quickly settle. It’s a complicated issue.”
“I fail to see why it is so complicated, Sergen. I’ve examined the law carefully, and I see no basis under which the Merchant Council can hold or try someone whose offense occurs outside the strict physical boundaries of the concessions. Is there some dispute over where exactly Geran and Captain Urdinger fought? If there isn’t, then it’s a matter for the harmach’s justice, not the council.”
Sergen grimaced and lowered his voice, moving closer to his uncle. He’d been expecting this for a day or two and knew how he wanted to respond. “I have much the same understanding, Uncle. But the Verunas are frankly beyond all reason at this point. They’re threatening dire repercussions if their calls for justice are ignored.”
Harmach Grigor frowned. “Dire repercussions? What do you mean?”
“I’m not sure, but I believe Lady Darsi may go so far as to completely vacate Veruna’s interests in Hulburg and then use her influence in Mulmaster to have the High Blade embargo all trade bound to Hulburg. I hardly need to describe what a disaster that would be. Mulmaster accounts for almost half our trade. We would be ruined within a month.” Sergen spread his hands helplessly. “As long as a threat such as that is hanging over our heads, I didn’t dare to defy her.”
The old lord grimaced and shot a dark look at Darsi Veruna, who was leaving the hall with her attendants and guards around her. She glided out the door with her valets hurrying to drape a stole around her neck, oblivious to the conversation at the foot of the harmach’s seat. “Darsi Veruna doesn’t have the right to tell us who to try and under what laws,” Grigor said firmly. “This is a matter for Hulburg’s justice, not her personal vendetta against Geran.”
“Well, that’s the problem. She believes that Geran will escape justice for his crimes because he is your nephew. Frankly, she doubts whether Geran would ever be brought to trial.”
“I have never allowed any member of the family to ignore our laws.”
“Until she sees Geran convicted and punished in some suitable manner, I am afraid she won’t believe that, Uncle.”
Grigor looked sharply at Sergen. “I won’t allow Geran to commit crimes and go unpunished, Sergen, but neither will I convict and punish him if he’s innocent of wrongdoing-regardless of what Darsi Veruna may think. If Geran is fairly acquitted, he will go free. If not, he’ll pay the same price any criminal would. And to make sure that there is no appearance of favoritism, I’ll delegate the harmach’s decision to High Magistrate Nimstar. But this is not a matter for the Merchant Council, Sergen.”
“House Veruna won’t be pleased by that.” Sergen tapped his finger on his chin, affecting a moment of serious thought. “What about this? Imprison Geran here in Griffonwatch and charge him under the harmach’s law as is right and proper, but appoint the Council Watch to guard him? As long as Darsi Veruna is reassured that Geran is indeed confined and that charges will be read against him, she may relent on her insistence that the council must hold him. I believe I can persuade her to accept that.”
The harmach stood in silence for a long moment, and then he nodded. “Very well. I’ll send someone to make arrangements with the council. But Sergen-regardless of whether Darsi Veruna agrees or not, Geran will be removed from Council Hall.”
“That might be-”
Grigor slashed his hand across his chest. “If Veruna wants to invite me to confiscate their property and re-let their leases to other merchant costers, then I’ll gladly do so.” The harmach turned and stomped away as best he could, striking his stick forcefully to the floor with each stride.
Sergen watched him retreat, mildly impressed. He wouldn’t have suspected that the old man had a glint of fire in him. Why, the harmach was positively reckless! It was not like Grigor to let anger get the better of him.
He gathered his guards to him with an absent motion of his hand and left the harmach’s hall to climb back into his coach. In a few moments the coach rolled back down the castle’s causeway and started through the streets as Sergen carefully thought through what needed to happen in the next few days. He decided he was committed to his decisions and spent the rest of the ride to Council Hall presenting himself with hypothetical misfortunes and determining his response to each.
The coach rocked to a stop, and his footman opened the door. Sergen climbed out and said, “Remain ready. I’ll be leaving again in a quarter-hour. And tell the watch captain to ask Captain Icehammer to join me in my chambers immediately.”
“Of course, Lord Keeper,” the man answered. But Sergen had already passed him by, bounding up the steps to Council Hall. He swept into the room that served as his office and found that his clerks had left him several letters and contracts to approve. None were particularly urgent, but he examined them simply to occupy himself while he waited for the mercenary captain.
He didn’t have to wait long. Before he’d finished looking over the third letter, Kendurkkel Ironthane knocked on the door and entered. The dwarf tromped in, took a seat in a chair by the hearth, and commenced to tap out the ashes from his pipe. “You sent for me, Lord Sergen?” he asked.
“I did,” Sergen answered. “I assume that you’ve heard rumors about the orc horde marching on Hulburg?”
The dwarf laughed harshly. “It’s no’ far from the minds o’ many folk this morning. No one talks ’bout anything else.”
“I’ve told the harmach that I’ve retained the services of the Icehammers. I want you to march with the Shieldsworn and help to defend Hulburg from the Bloody Skulls. I believe that contingency is already covered under our existing arrangements.”
“I expected so much,” Kendurkkel said. “However, I’ll be remindin’ you that a share o’ the plunder from the field o’ battle belongs to me company.”
“Of course. You should prepare to march immediately, Captain-the Shieldsworn hope to defend the watchtowers at the north end of the vale, and my dear sister Kara intends to move her forces there by tomorrow morning.”